Page 52 of Daddy's Wild Girl

“Are you cold? Do you need to share my blanket?” she asked.

“Yeah, that would be good.”

He wasn’t actually cold. But he couldn’t resist the opportunity to be closer to her. She helped him wrap the blanket around his shoulders, and as soon as they were close, he breathed in her scent.

Lord.

Was this some kind of trial? A test?

If it was, then he was failing miserably.

“My dad . . . he’s trying to make up for it now. To get to know me . . . it’s just that it feels like is . . .”

“Too little too late?” he guessed.

“I feel bad about that too. About the fact that every time he asks me to come around to dinner, I say no. But that’s less about him and more about . . .”

“Your mom?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. We should get down. Go get ready for the day.”

“Not yet.” He reached out, putting his hand on her knee before he quickly drew it away.

No touching.

“Why are you sorry?” he asked, instead of pulling her into his lap and holding her tight like he wanted to.

“Uh, because I’m sure you have better things to do than sit here and listen to a poor little rich girl complain about her life. I mean, what right do I have to moan? I wasn’t abused. Myparents didn’t starve me. I had a roof over my head and food to eat. Clothes and the best school money can buy.”

“You think that’s all a child needs to thrive? To grow? To be happy?”

“No,” she said quietly.

“And abuse can come in many different forms. It’s not just physical.”

Bebe sucked in an audible breath. “I wasn’t abused.”

Yeah. They had differing opinions on that.

“My biggest regret is doing the show.The Benner Life. Mother put a lot of pressure on me. She wouldn’t have been pleased if I had said no. But my dad took me aside and told me I could refuse to do it and he’d back me. It’s the one time I could remember him putting me first. It felt like he actually cared about my well-being. It felt good. But I was sixteen and thought it was my ticket to fame and fortune. Plus, I think a part of me wanted to please my mother. I just wanted her to like me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” he told her quietly.

“No, but it led to me doing things I now deeply regret. I don’t want to be rich and famous.” She huffed out a bitter-sounding laugh. “All I want is for everyone to forget about that stupid show. Strange how people think they know you when they see you on the television. They all seem to think that what they saw is the truth. That it wasn’t manipulated and guided and a huge fucking setup.” Another huff. “Sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry for things that aren’t your fault.”

“You’re employed to be my bodyguard, not my therapist.”

“Do you have one?” he asked.

“A therapist? With all of these issues I have? You bet your butt I do. Only problem is I can’t afford him.”

Corbin opened his mouth to ask her why, but then he shut it again. Why did he think she had money? Just because herparents did? The same parents that she barely had a relationship with.

“Have you watched it?”

“The Benner Life?” he asked, not really wanting to answer but knowing he had to.

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